


Dalmark

by Farilli



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Military, Outer Space, Science Fiction, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 17:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11673474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farilli/pseuds/Farilli
Summary: Syndra, a young AEther Weaver, is attached to the 41st exterminator squad. They are tasked with finding an eliminating all dangerous life forms encountered on the planet surface.Author Note:  This is the first piece i'v written. And thought I would post it to see what kind of reaction this would get. I would love to hear any and all feedback so that I can improve my writing.  I know there's still a long way to go but I decided to just say screw it and post it.Special thanks to Kat for helping me out :)and Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you enjoy :)





	Dalmark

**Johnathan**

There was calm about the forest of Dalmark. The wind set itself against the trees and foliage causing the wilderness to whisper of a brewing storm in the distance. The critters now hid in their holes, leaving the woods with a blinding silence and deafening stillness. Predators, that by nature stalked the forest, now barricaded themselves in their holes and caves against the oncoming storm.

Johnathan’s exterminator platoon glided between trees, slowly, methodically, combing the forest for danger. With a hand signal Jonathan ordered 10 meter spacing amongst his 40 man platoon as they swept the forest for signs of their target. Platoon 141 was tasked with finding and eliminating all class 4 and 5 hazard creatures in sector 58 CY of Dalmark. 

Johnathan’s helmet com clicked alive. A young voice spoke “Hard to believe anyone would want to colonize this piece of shit rock” said Adul

_ No it isn’t _ , Johnathan thought to himself. Dalmark is full of resources and would require very little terraforming to make habitable for colonists. 

“Heard the banking union is behind it. The planets in this sector tend to be packed with minerals. Not to mention the crazy amount of vegetation and life here that could be turned into materials.” Said Gharbi 

_ And by financing the effort here, they’ll be able to impose taxes on anyone that comes to live or do business here, _ Johnathan thought to himself

“Hell…” Darlax growled “just gotta throw some echos to the damn confederation, and here we are, treading in the muck while the high and mighty get to sit in luxury and reap the rewards”

“It’s not all bad, I mean this stuff is kind of cool and doing this does help overpopulation on other worlds” said Adul

“Yea, because this is what I signed up for, pest control” said another platoon member

“Really? Because I signed up for the crazy hours, poor work conditions, minimum amount of pay, constant inspections, and the… oh-so delectable overly processed food” said Jenski, one of Johnathan’s squad leaders.

“Well… Yea... It does suck sometimes, but the uniform, dude… ladies love the uniform” said Adul

“You’re an idiot” said Jenski

Technically, the men were only supposed to use the coms for mission related chatter but Johnathan chose to take a lenient stance on that policy. The banter and chatter amongst the men helped keep their spirits up. As long as they kept it down when officers or another platoon were nearby, he couldn’t care less. 

A Female voice keyed up on Jonathans direct line “Got something; Sending coordinates now”

“Roger, on our way”

Jonathan switched to the platoon channel. 

“Syndra’s got something. Squad leaders stand by for coordinates. Keep your spacing and stay alert, Syndra’s too far to help if we get caught off guard by something nasty”

**Syndra**

Syndra’s bright red hair danced behind her as the wind sang past her . She finished keying the coordinates into her heads up display then tapped her temple to terminate the program. Standing at the maw of a cave, she looked out over the canopy of Dalmark. Dark clouds took form over the horizon and marched towards her, stepping to the cadence of the gusts. 

Her thoughts drifted to the sowing fields of her home world. Terraforming and climate control had coated the days with constant sunlight meant to coax crops of the earth by day, and heavy rains at night to quench their thirst. The intense heat produced by the sun forced most of the farmers to sleep during the day and let their machines tend to the crops. At night, under Estaña, one of the two moons that orbited her home world, the farmers would do maintenance on droids, take stock of their crops, and preform any other business that demanded their attention. 

A life of farming failed to attract Syndra the same way it had many of the other inhabitants of her home world. She left home and traveled to Yeteel, the lone space port city of her home world. Syndra recalled the monotony and unchanging routine of her home world. She remembered the excitement she felt as she snuck onto a cargo transport due to arrive at one of the core worlds. The way she trembled as she felt the engines rumble to life. The butterflies she felt when she experienced weightlessness before artificial gravity kicked in.  

Syndra noted that unlike her birth world, _Dalmark is savage_ _this planet is free_ , she thought to herself,  She loved it.

Ascension, a Confederate flag ship, had sent instructions for all active squads to prepare for a storm brewing over the horizon of Delmark. Although standard issue confederate armor was equipped with an inner climate suit meant to allow its wearer to wage war through the harshest of conditions; and every squad was equipped with a shield generators that, although meant for battle fortifications, could dual purpose as shelter from the elements, the 41 st ’s platoon leader had hinted that he preferred not to put his trust in standard issue equipment and asked Syndra to search for shelter through the storm. 

Syndra chuckled to herself, thinking of when she met the 41 st . She could sense the men’s skepticism of her as she introduced herself to Johnathan, informing him that she was assigned to them for this operation. Syndra received the impression that the men of the 41 st did not expect her to be suited for demands of an exterminator squad. She wondered if it was her age, small figure, or perhaps it was the lack of prestige in her order. She remembered the way the men scoffed at her when she refused protective gear in favor of her cargo trousers, lose fitting shirt (torn from waist down), mesh under shirt, and a robe she had clearly out grown. She ran a finger across her stomach, feeling the threads of her undershirt.  _ This provides more protection than their stupid gear _ she thought to herself. It was a prize she had won for herself during her time on the core worlds. Taranturum thread, light weight and elastic, incredibly resistant to concussion, temperature, and energy.  _ This is the only armor I’ll ever need _

Dalmark exhaled. Syndra closed her eyes and let in the planets breath. She felt the life of the planet fill her lungs, felt it kiss her skin. She felt the wind moved through her hair turning it from a soft flame into blazing torch. Annoyed with herself for losing another her hair tie, Syndra tore a small strip of cloth from the side of her shirt and used it to tame her hair. She made a mental note to order a new shirt for the next resupply.

Syndra saw the 41 st making their way towards her in the distance. She sat, tracking their progress she recalled 3 days prior; day-zero of the operation. Ascension held a pre operation, on board, liberty period where the men to be deployed would be allowed to indulge in drinks, and festivities. Due to the high mortality rate of extermination operations, the men left nothing to want when it came to enjoying life in the now. Brawls broke out over accidental spills, paychecks were staked on ill-advised wagers, and each platoon saw to it that their newest additions were fully indoctrinated. 

Adul, the greenest member of the 41 st , went through a platoon tradition requiring him to share a drink with every member of the platoon. “It’s called a baptism” Johnathan said to her.  41 drinks, 7 heaves later, he went missing and wasn’t found until the next morning when Ascension’s AI informed a maintenance crew of an obstruction in the ventilation system. Adul was found naked and surrounded by his body weight in vomit. 

Syndra, being contracted by the Confederacy to support the operation, was allowed to attend. With the liberty being confined to the ship, the options of entertainment were mostly sports, gambling, and watching Holo-vids. Syndra had spent most of the flight watching holo-vids in her private chambers, never being skilled at sports, and knowing better than to try to keep up with the drinkers, Syndra made her way to one of the tables of chances. 

She examined the tables, avoiding any with men from the 41 st . She found her mark, a group of exceptionally brutish looking men hunched over messy piles of chips and empty drinks. She noted one of the men was near to falling out of his chair and was fumbling with his echo card, attempting to buy himself back into the game. 

With what looked like great effort, he looked up at her as she approached, one eye half closed, the other unable to focus, he spoke to her through heavy slurring, “heey ther fire-” Syndra ran her fingers through his hair, clenched, and tugged, directing his head towards the floor. The man flailed his arms in an attempt to balance, failed, hit the floor hard, and slept. 

Batting her eyes, she smiled, played a curtsy, and sat herself into the newly vacant seat.  The men met her with leering smiles, and greedy eyes. 

“antes at 15, black is a hundred, red 50, blue 20, green, 10, and white 5” said the man with the dealer chip

Syndra bought herself betting chips and began her work. After the dealers chip had made its round 3 times. She found the smiles replaced with frustration. She didn’t win them all, but she did win the big ones. After another round, 2 men left, and each, except one, the most exceptionally ogre like of the men, had stopped drinking. Then she won again.

“CHEATER!”  The man bellowed “you rotten fuckin’ cheater!!”

“Shut up” Syndra said “you’re drunk and an idiot for betting on the play”

The man threw the table and lunged at her. Seated, she brought up her foot and connected with the man squarely under the jaw. The man’s jaw gave an audible crack and his eyes glazed and as he began to fall forward.  She stepped into him, palmed his face in her hand, and swept his feet from under him. She drove down hard with her hand and bashed the man’s skull against the polysteele floor.  

The rest of the men stared. She laughed as she got up, it wasn’t that she enjoyed hurting the man, just the environment, it was alive, and she thrived off of it. As the men moved to check on their friend, she re-sleeved her winning card. She scanned the room around her, her eyes met with Darlax’s, one of the veterans of 41 st . She felt the blood drain from her face as they locked eyes. His face twisted into something resembling a grin. He nodded to her, raised his drink as if to toast her, and turned his attention back to his cigar and cards. 

 

Bringing herself back to the present, Syndra clenched her jaw twice “You move like slugs John”

“At the mountain’s base.  How much room do we have in the cave?” said Johnathan

“Plenty. Seems to go for miles. I’m thinking, wurm hole”

“What?”

“I think a wurm made the cave. Thought we might evict it.”

“I don’t want to be stuck in there with a wurm when the storm hits.”

Syndra rolled her eyes “please, we can vaporize the thing as soon as it shows itself”

After a moment Johnathan replied “We’ll talk about it when we get there.”

Grabbing a pebble lying next to her, “I’ll be here…”

She eyed a lone sapling in the distance, flung the pebble at it. She found another pebble, and tried again. After a while she heard the footsteps of the 41 st . As they arrived to the cave opening, some of the men moved to form a defensive perimeter and others dropped their packs and sat. A few of the men of the men sat next to Syndra. All grunted as they removed their helmets, and most picking up some pebbles.  

Syndra got up and moved to where Jonathan and his squad leaders were gathered. 

“I doubt the wurm will come out during the storm” said Corman, a tall blond haired man. Corman towered over Syndra as she walked up and stood between him and Johnathan. 

“But if it does, we don’t want to be forced out into the storm. I doubt that thing will be happy to have us in its home” Said Johnathan

“We don’t even know if there is a wurm in there” said Jenskie, a handsome dark skinned man with light scars across his face. “If there is though, storm or not, we’re going to have to kill the damn thing at some point”

Shifting her weight onto her left leg, “That’s what I’m saying.” Said Syndra

“I agree”, said Darlax. He drank from his Canteen, “but the men are tired, hell I’m tired too, we’ve been patrolling all day and only stopped for chow”.  He capped the canteen and clipped it to his chest. Syndra had only seen Canteens used in holofims. They were old, pre-warp tech. she realized that Darlax had a lot of pre-Warp tech, He carried an small archaic looking cannon with a cylinder above the trigger, instead of a standard issue charge pistol, attached to his shoulder was a hard Steel knife in a leather sheath, instead of a plasma torch. His armor was stained and worn, the paint that identified him as a 41 st eliminator of the Confederacy was chipped and faded. 

Johnathan looked at his squad leaders, then at the rest of the 41 st . “Jenskie, Darlax, we’ll send your scout drones into the cave to check things out for us. Corman your squad will provide security. We have at least a couple of hours before the storm hits. The platoon can rest while the cave gets scouted, in the worst case, we can move away from here and set up the shield generators”

Then men acknowledged and moved to their respective squads.

Darlax looked at the rest of the squad leaders as they headed towards their men. He returned his sunken eyes to Johnathan.  

“It’ll be fine John” said Darlax

“It’s my gut Darlax” Said Johnathan

“Say you’re right and there is something in there, we still got sparks here to lend a hand. And we’ve been in much worse and come out alright”

“We’ve lost men though, complacency kills friend”

“So does indecisiveness. We could lose men to the storm if we stay out in the open. Sparks, you find anything else besides this cave?”

Syndra looked at them, they appeared paradoxical standing next to each other. Darlax’s rough bulky build, unshaven scared face posed a stark contrast to Johnathan’s lean clean shaven face and armor. Yet both men carried a commanding presence.  The wind broke itself against Darlax, like a rock in river, and parted around Johnathan like a blade cutting water. 

“Nothing that will provide the kind of shelter we’re looking for” said Syndra

Johnathan looked out into the horizon. Syndra followed his gaze. Dark towers formed in the sky. Syndra couldn’t yet hear the war drums of the storm to come, but she could begin to see flashes in the clouds.  She turned back to the two men and felt a tug at her own gut as they looked at the men of the 41 st , each wore hardened, determined faces. 

“… that damn gut” said Darlax

Biting into a cigar, Darlax reached and took Johnathan’s plasma torch. He buzzed it on and used the heat to light his cigar.

“Why do you carry a knife instead of a torch?” Syndra asked

Both men turned to her, brows raised. Syndra felt her ears grow hot and blood rush to her cheeks. 

Johnathan smirked and looked back at his friend, “I’ll wait until the drones return before I decide anything”

“Sure thang boss” Darlax grunted, turning and walking back to his squad, leaving a cloud of aged tobacco as he went.

“What’s his story?” asked Syndra

“His to tell”

“Known each other long?”

“He was my squad leader when I arrived to the 41 st ”

Syndra raised an eyebrow.

Smiling, Johnathan looked at her, “he doesn’t play well with officers”

“Officers?”

Nodding, “officers” Johnathan confirmed “get some rest Syndra”

She took the hint, and strode back to her pebbles and sapling.

 

**Adul**

“Look at me now ma’,” Adul said to no one in particular. He was seated at the entrance of the cave next to one of Darlax’s men. Both held a remote control in their hands with a screen that transferred and recorded a live feed from their drones.

“What?” asked Phren, not taking his eyes from his screen.

“My mom, she said I was wasting my time playing my games back home. Well, look at me now ma’, this is exactly the same as one of the missions in Confederate Liberation”

“How?”

“It’s exactly like it”

“You’ve single handedly taken out an entire military, with evo tanks, hellions, bio-engineered super soldiers inside of Darkmatter powered mechasuits, survived OBL shots, somehow stole the secret plans from under the princesses bedchamber, oh, and destroyed a flag ship with nothing but a plasma torch?”

“HEY! That is theoretically Possible…” said Adul, “in the right conditions”

“You’re dumb. The tunnel forks ahead, I’ll take the left one. Drop a beacon at the split.”

“You don’t like Confederate liberation?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just nothing like how it is in real life. New guys come into the military thinking it’s all action and heroics. Get your head on straight, realize that we’re not the main character, we’re the guys in the background that get randomly blown to bits. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it through a few fights and operations, if you’re real lucky, you’ll make it back home or end up behind a desk and send guys like us to swim through the muk”

_ I’ll make it through, _ Adul thought to himself. 

“My drone is picking something up” said Adul

Phren set his control down and looked over Adul’s shoulder.  “Go silent” he said

Adul flipped a switch, camouflaging and dampening the sound output of the drone. 

“I don’t see anything” said Adul

“Infrared” instructed Phren

“Nothing”

“Sonar”

“Nothing”

“Yes, there is, bottom right. There’s a hole there.” Said Phren

The screen moved and showed a small opening, approximately 3 meters in diameter, sloping downward. Adul dropped a beacon at the entrance, eased his drown down into the hole. The screen drew a tunnel 13 meters long, at its end large cavern. 

“Got him” Adul smiled to himself.

**Johnathan**

“It’s about 4 kilometers inside the cave, Commander.  Probably trying to sleep through the storm” Adul said

Johnathan, Syndra, and the team leaders stood around the digital display sent from the drone as the 2 boys briefed them on their finding.  

“How big is the cavern?” asked Syndra

“About 30-ish meters wide, about half that in height, the back end of it drops off though, we weren’t able to figure out how deep it goes.” Said Adul.

“Sonar didn’t wake it up?” asked Syndra

“Wurms don’t hear, they feel” Darlax told her. Turning to Johnathan “we could use the storm as cover boss, thing won’t feel us coming up on it”

Johnathan’s brow furrowed at the display. Looking up at Phren, “your drone not get anything?”

“Nothing, it forked a lot on the route my drone took. I backtracked and had it search further down pip’s route, but all I found was more rock”

Johnathan looked up at the sky, Dark and miasmic. The clouds imposing and impending.   _ It is just a wurm, _ he thought to himself

“Let’s go.” Said Johnathan

Within minutes the 41st was lined against each end of the entrance, weapons set to kill, the men hardened themselves; and as one, moved into the darkness of the cave.

**End of chapter**

 

Nearly 4 kilometers into the cave, the sound of thunder carried through the tunnels of the cave, wind rushed past the 41 st  violently colliding against their backs. The 41 st moved steadily in the groping darkness toward their mark.   _ Firm and light,  _ Johnathan thought to himself as he stepped. The light amplifier flickered on his HUD as a strong bit of air pushed past him.  _ Must be hell out there,  _ Johnathan thought. He was glad they weren’t outside for the storm. 

Johnathan saw the entrance to the cavern and key’d the signal to stop on his arm band. The 41 st , knelt. He keyed commands into his HUD: 1 st , scout, recon, report, all unites, live feed.  The commands went out and a separate Screen appeared on every members HUD. The new screen showed what 1st squad’s scout saw. It showed the scout activating the movement muffler on his belt. The screen panned up, his light enhancer only illuminated the a few meters in front of him. He began his climb up the file of men, his light Enhancer slowly forming the backs of the men he passed one.  _ 7…, 6….,  _ Johnathan counted too himself, the men swayed in the wind _ , _ struggling to keep their balance.  _ 5…,4….,3….,2….. _ The scout passed 1 st squad’s Assistant squad leader then revealed Darlax’s hulk of a back, solid, mimicking the stone he knelt next too.    
  


The screen moved past Darlax, and formed a slender fluid figure. Syndra knelt with both hands on the floor and her body bent over her upright knee. She had wrapped the tail of her robe around an arm to keep it from flailing in the wind. The lines in her back began to take form as he began the scout stepped onward. The curves of her lower back muscle took form and the back pockets of her pants-  _ He’s staring at her!  _ No sooner had Johnathan thought this, when Syndra snapped her head around and to the scout. The LE system caught her eyes and made them look impossibly bright and overly sized. With the way her body was hunched over her knee it gave her the appearance of something wild and feral. The scout snapped his head forward. 

_ Dumbass, _ Johnathan thought

The screen panned back ahead of the Scout. Completely omitting Syndra from its few this time.  Johnathan saw his own back take form, get closer, then Johnathan saw the scouts back. 

The scout continued along the wall and into the black. The screen showed the a hole along the same wall appear out of the darkness 2 or 3 meters in front of the scout.  A hand gripped the corner of the entrance and looked down to a slope into darkness.  The scout made his way down 6 meters and found flat ground again. He looked at his arm and keyed a few buttons. 

Johnathans HUD relayed the message - less, climate -.  _ Winds not as strong down there...  _ Johnathans HUD put up another message, – request sonar -. Johnathan keyed back, –granted, out.

After a few minutes Adul had made his way to the scout and set the drone on the ground.  He activated it and turned Sonar view.  After a few moments Adul sent a message to Johnathan: Target centered, target unaware, request ordinance, out.

Johnathan replied: granted, out. Then he switched to the platoon channel and keyed in: move to scouts, out.  

The men moved as silently against the walls until they came to the opening leading to the chamber.  Johnathan ordered the heavy laser repeater to set up at the opening of the chamber. He moved next to Adul and looked into the sonar screen. There was a massive lump at the other end of the cavern by the drop off. It appeared to be sleeping. Johnathan considered his options, then he ordered the demolition team to set up shock charges around the wurm and for the rest of the teams to form a perimeter along the curvature of the cavern.

Slowly and quietly, the demolition team set up the shock detonators around the wurm. Gumdrop shaped cones with stems protruding from the charges would attract the energy from the other detonators as it shot its own charge to another. The energy from it received would charge the detonator, which would then shoot out the energy again, essentially making a small circuit. Although they lost a small amount of energy from each jump the energy made, they could go on for hours before all of the energy was lost. Unless there was something in between the jumps that would absorb it. If set up correctly, the charges would form a small electrical storm frying anything in between the charges. 

-Set, awaiting command- the demolition squad keyed to Johnathan. 

Johnathan’s temples and artery throbbed, -execute-

The charges exploded into violent torrents of electricity. Johnathan’s HUD went white for a moment as it tried to compensate for the blinding light introduced to the environment. There was a deafening sound, somewhere between a screech and a roar. When the HUD finally compensated for the change in light, Johnathan saw the Wurm thrashing about in the center of the storm. None of the bolts of lightning shot out past the small enclosure the charges made. Streaks of bright blue energy shot out and collided with the wurm, and then the energy seemed to be pulled back out into another charge. 

The smell of chard rock and flesh began to permeate the air. The cracks and zapps of the electricity added to the shrill melody the wurm produced, the beating of its body as it thrashed against the ground, unable to escape or control the convulsions of its body added a sick drumming to the song of its death. After a few moments, the song ended, leaving behind only a smoking, charred husk of a wurm. 

Johnathan released he was holding his breath. Nobody moved. Crouching, He moved towards the wurm, Syndra close at his flank. He knelt by the nearest charge, noting there was that there was still a small amount of juice left in them. 

“Lights!” he called out

41 beams of light speared through the darkness. 

“By the divine…” one of his men said.

“Kill the switches on the charges” Johnathan ordered.

“No life reading from wurm” called Adul

Johnathan noticed the black, scaly features of the wurm. Almost as if it had black razor sharp teeth along its entire body, the way some of them where melted together, and the way some of them stuck straight out, charred flesh underneath it.

“Rock Wurm” said Johnathan

“What?” asked Syndra

“That’s a rock wurm. We lucked out. Had we used a concussive blast, those teeth would have protected it from the majority of the blast, or had we used lasers, they would have just bounced off it. They don’t get as big as regular wurms, but they are far more deadly and harder to kill.” Said Johnathan “we need to report this to Ascension. The reports made no mention of these guys being here on the planet”

Syndra moved towards the corpse with a look of curiosity and awe.

Johnathan felt the ground tremble beneath him.  _ Nest mate! _ Johnathan began to form the words to shout a retreat when the floor exploded beneath him, sending him fly back towards the cavern wall followed by debris. He hit the wall and heard a crack, as his head snapped back. His vision began to wane… and felt the darkness of the cavern begin to drown out the light.

 

**Darlax**

All of it happened in a moment, Darlax saw Syndra try to jump away from where she was standing as the ground erupted. A large piece of rock hit her as tried to get away toppling her back and down the hole in the cavern. Johnathan was sent flying back towards the cavern wall. He flailed as he flew until he hit the wall and went lip, slumping to the floor. 

Beams of laser streaked across the cavern towards the new wurm. They hit and shot off in different directions. The wurm flung it’s self into the air and was arching to dive back into the ground. 

“FALL BACK! HOLD LASER FIRE!” Darlax shouted

The wurm’s teeth jutted out of its body and began to spiral around its body. It brought its tail down on one of the man nearest it, crushing his body, shredding it, sending bits of flesh, bone and armor flying every direction. It whipped its tail towards the next man, he put his arms up to shield himself from the impact, but the teeth cut through him with ease. The tail connected with his body turning him inside out and sent, what now looked more like mangled meat than a human body, flying through the air then splattering into the wall. 

The men lucky enough to get out of the tails range were running towards the exit now.  The wurm began to dig into the rock and out of sight. 

“You three!” Darlax boomed, Adul and two other men that were making their way from the Wurms death circle halted and looked at him. 

“Grab a shock charge!” Darlax said, running towards the nearest one

Without hesitation, the men turned and ran towards the charges.

“Use your beam cartridge and Smash the connector to the charges receiver!”  Darlax ordered

Darlax ripped his own cartridge out of his laser gun and did as he had instructed the men to do, the receiver dented under the force of the impact but the connection was made. The beam cartridge turned bright as energy started to vent. The smell of burnt fiber armor wafted into Darlax’s nostrils. The cartridge exploded in his hands, sending bits of shrapnel and electricity flying. Darlax’s hand went numb and he felt blood trickling down face. He glanced at the other men, all had similar results to his, but they seemed to still be in fighting condition.

Darlax felt a rumbling under his feet. He glanced at the energy meter on the shock charge, 17%.  _ It’ll have to do _ . He thought to himself. 

“Grab them and move. Keep your spacing!” Darlax Shouted.

He picked up his charge and turned towards the exit. He felt the ground begin to shift under him. He crouched to lunge away from where he stood. The ground underneath him cracked and erupted. Darlax saw the mouth of the wurm begin to swallow the earth around him. He lunged, barely making out of the death radius that was the wurms maw. The wurm sailed through the air at one of the men Darlax had ordered to pick up a Charge. It dove back into the ground, swallowing the man whole. 

Darlax, pushed himself onto his feet, realizing, that he had dropped his charge when he jumped, an idea came to him. He primed one of his grenades and began to run for the exit. As he ran he began to feel the rumbling under his feet.  _ Come on _ , he thought to himself. Right before the ground erupted from under him again, he dropped the grenade and lunged again, this time he wasn’t as lucky. As the Wurm erupted out of the ground, one of his legs got caught by the wurms teeth. It shred right through the armor, flesh and bone. 

“AAruughh! Fuck!” Darlax Shouted. He hit the ground hard. He felt the blood start to drain from his face, his body felt cold and heavy. The wurm landed a few meters away, and turned towards him. 

_ Thrum!  _  The mid-section of the wurm expanded and it let out a screech as it began to thrash about. Darlax heard the buzzing from the shock charges. His vision began to blur, dim, and then he saw nothing but black.

 

 

Syndra

Syndra’s body ached, and her head pounded. She opened her eyes but saw only darkness. She remembered being launched over the edge of the cavern and falling. She tried to stand, but her body felt stiff, she felt…  _ cold.  _ _ Why am I cold?  _ Syndra thought,  _ I don’t get cold, what the hell happened?  _ She closed her eyes and began to asses her body, but felt nothing. She told her fingers to move, but her fingers didn’t tell her if they had moved or not, she tried wriggling her toes, but found it futile.  _ Alright, no moving then.  _ She instead tried to channel the heat inside of her to warm her body. But when she looked at her inner flame, she saw only dying embers.  _ Fuck,  _ Syndra thought _. _ She imagined herself picking up the embers, cupping them in her hand, she brought them close to her face.  _ 6 embers. _ Looking into their dimming light, focusing on the little heat they still produced, she blew lightly on them, and the embers brightened. Focusing on nothing but the little dying lights, she blew again. 

She took the little heat they produced as she blew, and channeled it into a new ember.  _  7 embers.  _ She repeated the process, slowly filling the cold with warmth. She turned the embers into a flame, the flame into a torch, the torch into a blaze and the blaze into an inferno. 

Syndra’s opened her eyes, and felt beads of sweat rolling down her brow. She re-assessed her body, she moved her fingers, her arms, then pushed herself up onto her knees. She realized she was half submerged in water. syndra stood and held a hand out, palm up, and focused the heat exhuming form her body at a single point on her hand, and a flame sprang to life.

The flame illuminated the space around her. Syndra was standing on a rock ground. Behind her was a small body of water that reached the opposing wall.  _ A cenote  _ syndra thought. Then it returned to her, as she fell, she welled up all the energy she could muster, and at the last minute she released all of it, downward, causing a small explosion that slowed her decent.  _  I must have hit the water hard enough to knock me out  _ she thought.  _  Then washed up on rocks here.  _  She stepped out of the water onto the rocks.   Syndra looked up into the darkness, she condensed the flame in her hand into small ball of heat and light, the flames began to swirl in her hand, small jets and arches of flames began to form on the small stars surface. She wound her arm, and flung it into the darkness above her. 

It continued to travel until the flames devoured themselves and its light extinguished, leaving Syndra in darkness once again. She re-kindled another flame in her hand.  _ Too far to climb,  _ she thought,  _ if not up... then down? No. these things go for miles…. There has to be a way out… _

Syndra considered her options,  _ I could wait until the guys come to get me  _ she thought.  _ But that could take days or weeks… if any of them survived.  _ She walked over to the nearest wall. 

_ Not much I can do for now but wait. I hate waiting. _

Syndra sat in the darkness for what seemed hours, listening for the sounds of rescue. Her muscles began to itch for action. She contemplated the amount of time it would take her to climb out of the hole she was in, and compared it to how long she thought she could hold onto the rocks. Each time she felt like she could do it, the rational side of her brain would kick in and tell her that she would tire, loose her grip and end up in the same spot.

”the fuck am I supposed to do then!” she shouted at the darkness 

She stood, spun, and kicked the rock face. The kick dislodged a large piece of rock from the wall, it fell to the floor. She stared at it.  _ The wurms!  _ She thought,  _ if the 41 _ _ st _ _ was killed, then the wurms would probably come to investigate if I caused enough commotion. And if nothing comes, then the wurms were killed and the 41 _ _ st _ _ is looking for me.  _

_ Okay then, a ruckus I can do.  _ Syndra, looked inside herself once again. She found the flames inside herself. She took a breath. Syndra felt the flames expanding throughout her chest, felt the flames surrounding her heart. She took another breath, and her flames ignited her heart, turning it into a small star of pulsating heat and light. With every pump her heart took, it shot flames through her vanes.  She took another breath, and gave more life the fire. She continued until her blood boiled and her clothes were damp from her sweat. 

The air around Syndra began to shimmer from the heat protruding from her, every inhale filled her lungs with hot air, and each exhale released small jets of steam. Her body itched as each pore opened to release the evaporated sweat. Her blood rushed through her body, super charged by the inferno inside. Her eyes saw nothing but the red veins from behind their lids, pulsating with every heartbeat.

Then Syndra opened her eyes, and let it out. The heat manifested itself into an explosion as it shot out. Her inferno took life in the confinement of the cavern, blasting into the surrounding walls, hitting the water face and vaporizing it into a large columns of steam, barrowing up behind the flames that shot up. 

The steam in the room limited her vision, but the specks of super-heated rock that shined through made her smile. 

_ Good,  _ she thought to herself.

She closed her eyes again, and felt the heat around her, felt the flame inside her. Then she took a breath of the heat that surrounded her, turning the flame, into a blaze.

 

Syndra repeated the process, using the surrounding heat, to multiply it on itself. After her third release, the rocks began to crack under the heat, some turned to liquid, crackling as they dripped into the water.  Syndra closed her eyes, and began the process again, and she felt a small rumbling

_ About time _

She soaked in some heat from the small hell she had created, and nurtured the heat as she waited. After a few moments, the wall above her exploded. The wurm launched itself into cavern. Syndra jumped back against the wall from where the wurm had entered, extended her arms, and released a torrent of flames. 

The flames flew across the room and connected with the wurm as it hit the ground. The initial impact of Syndras attack pushed the Wurm into opposing wall. Syndra soaked up more heat for her next attack.

The wurm shrieked and flailed out the black razer teeth that covered its body, the wurm directed itself straight at syndra, and charged. Its teeth rotating around its body, cutting up the rock as charged. Syndra released her next pillar of flame. It flew straight at the wurm, hit it, and parted around the wurm as it charged. 

“SHIT!” Syndra Cried. 

She jumped and shot another pillar of flame at the ground, the thrust of it shooting her the air as the wurm sunk itself into the wall where she had been standing. She twisted herself around to face the wurm as she landed behind it. The wurm swung its tail around in a sweeping motion, tearing up the rocky ground in its wake. Syndra used another torrent of flame to push herself back, dodging the tail by inches. 

The teeth on the wurm rotated again as the wurm carved its front half out of the wall. A soft piece of melted rock fell onto the wurm. It gave Syndra her next plan of attack. She shot another torrent of flame at the wurm and used the force from it to shoot her to the opposite side of the cavern. 

“Frak drakas!” Syndra shouted, “omnibual qual bien!”

A Small ball of flames erupted into life in front of Syndra, and every source of heat in the room shot in a small string of red to the ball. The steam in the room began to condensate, the melted and super-heated rocks hardened and cooled. 

The Wurm shrieked, re-orientated towards Syndra, it charged. Syndra took the orb in her hand, pointed it at the ground in front of her, and shouted “Brien!”

The orb released all of the heat it had absorbed into a blinding jet at the ground, instantly turning the hard rock into a pool of melted rock.  The wurm’s charge took it straight into the pool and it sank into the molten lava. It released the loudest noise Syndra had ever heard. It flailed around in the pool and stuck out it teeth trying to climb out, but only sunk deeper the more it struggled. Bits of molten rock filled the gaps in between each tooth on its body; Syndra smelt wurms flesh begin to char in the pool of fire. 

Syndra, closed her eyes, trying to shut out the cries of agony emitting from the beast before her. 

“Just die. Please. Die…. Just DIE!” 

Syndra ignited her hands and shot a pillar at the wurm, throwing everything she could muster in the attack, holding it until the wurms shrieks began to die, and its movements stopped. When Syndra finally cut off her flames, she stood there and watched the husk of the wurm seep beneath the face of the molten rock. 

After a few moments, looked up at the hole the wurm had made, and moved towards it. Her thoughts on the fate of the 41 st . 

 


End file.
